A book called Alice …. a thunderstorm ….and the lazy buzz of visiting bees … the non-history story

August into September used to be known as the silly season when with Parliament in recess along with the law courts nothing much stirred leaving the media to fall back on trivia to sell newspapers and generate income from advertising.

Driven from the Rec ... hot days, 2026

It would be the time of “man bites dog”, “looking for the sea at Southport” and “spotting the first onion sellers from France”.

And despite that itis only June, and recent storis of earthquakes in Venezuela, wars in the Middle East and that unfolding speculation on who will be Britain’s next Prime Minister, here in Chorlton it all seems to be what the Americans would call a “slow news week”.

All of which I guess is down to the heat wave which has driven me into the coolest part of the house.  Shutters and curtain drawn, windows closed and the admission that the last time I went out was Monday.Driven from the Rec, hot days

It has however given me more time to reflect on smaller bits of history and to explore phrases like “Piffy on a rock bun”, “Black as New gate’s knocker”, and “looking like Reggie Page”. Some are very personal and arise from our own family while others have a wider context and some are rooted in historic events. *

And there are those which me and friends have used for decades and no doubt were picked up from our youth.  One such was when my friend Lois responding to the present heatwave described the moment as “boiling” while many of us have and do say I am “starving”. 

Now neither can logically be true but they perfectly describe a moment.

Alice trying to play croquet with a flamingo, 1865

And that brings me back to one of my favourite bits from Through the Looking Glass where Humpty Dumpty remarks, “When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less’”.

An absurd comment but one which chimes in perfectly with the utterances of some politicians and much of what is peddled on social media and is just “fake news”, although even the word fake news has been hijacked to rubbish what has been verified as accurate.

All that said there is nothing fake about the heat wave.

Inside our house it is currently 29° while outside its 32° but which pales when set against the 34° being ensured by one of my sisters in southeast London.

Alas the promised thunderstorms passed off with just three claps of thunder and the accompanying streaks of lightening at 5 this morning.

It was enough to get me up, water the garden and enjoy the lazy buzz of some friendly bees who were more active than I have been all day.

All of which is very unhistorical so I shall close with a review of the summers from the mid-1840s.

Back then we were still a rural community with most of our population deriving a living from the land or in associated trades. So, the weather was more than just a hot day to endure.  

Hot days looking for bees, 2026

My copy of “Agricultural Records” reports that 1842 and 1843 were “fine dry summers with a good harvest” while 1844 was “a year of drought with disastrous harvest", followed by a year when the summer was “cold with a fairly poor harvest”.***

Happily, 1847 and 1848 offered up mixed weather but the harvests were plentiful although the quality was low.

And anyone who has studied social unrest will know that a succession of poor harvests brings hardships to the poor and anxiety for the people of plenty, who well remembered that the bumper French harvest of 1787 gave way to two bad years and a revolution.

Location; where ever  it is hot

Pictures; Driven from The Rec, Beech Road, empty at midday, 2026, and hot days looking for bees, Royal Horticultural Gardens, Bridgewater from the collection of Andrew Simpson, Alice trying to play croquet with a flamingo, John Teninel, 1865, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carrol, 1865

*"'When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.

'The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean so many different things.’

'The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘which is to be master — that’s all’”.

Through the Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll, 1871

**Piffy on a rock bun …………… and other travels with my past, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/2020/06/piffy-on-rock-bun-and-other-travels.html

***Agricultural Records, AD 220-1977, J.M. Stratton and Jack Houghton Brown, 1978

Ordinary days in St Ann’s Square …..

It is often the ordinary picture you take and discard as boring that comes back and shows a place as it was a long time ago.

I was reminded of that almost banal observation when I came across a picture of St Ann’s Square from 1983, posted by the historian Brian Groom.*

It was taken by Anthony O'Neill and appeared in the Manchester Evening News as the Square was going through one of its makeovers.

It’s an untidy and messy scene and perfectly captured the place on a day when it was full of shoppers and piles of construction stuff. 

Now I can remember a time when the square was not a pedestrian haven, and crossing from the bookshop to the Lufthansa office meant picking your way through parked cars and watching for passing traffic.

Sadly, my collection of pictures from the late 1970s and 80s doesn’t include any of the place when the car was still king in the square, but I did find some from 1980 when it was on the cusp of change.

Or so I thought because amongst the images is one of a chap taking in the sun which might postdate 1980.

And that is pretty much it, other than to say it is hard to think that on a summer’s day in the 1980s, shoppers and seekers after the sun had to contend with “meter maids” busy taxis and vans dropping off.

Location; St Ann’s Square

Pictures; St Ann’s Square, 1980 and perhaps 1984, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

*Brian Groom, Northerners: A History, from the Ice Age to the Present Day HarperNorth, 2022

Made in Manchester: A people’s history of the city that shaped the modern world HarperNorth, 2024

Mr Gratrix's clay pipe lost in our garden in 1845

The pipe found in the garden, 2014

It is not much of a piece of history but I found it in our front garden which makes it special and takes me back to sometime in the 19th century.

It is a bit of clay pipe and was probably thrown away by some one working this bit of land, or by someone passing along what was then called the Row.*

It is even just possible it came from night soil brought in from Manchester to spread on the fields of Chorlton.

'Like any time in history some of the most revealing clues to how people lived are contained in the rubbish they threw away.  Across the township one of the most common items to resurface is the humble clay pipe.

Found in the parish churchyard, 1980

Usually they are broken and often turn up on their own, although sometimes a whole batch has been unearthed over a period of time all quite close together.

They were the pipe of the working man, and some working women.  

Inexpensive, easy to make and made in huge quantities, they are a true example of a throw away product.  

They were smoked in the home, in the pub and at the work place.  

The evidence from sites in some of the poorer parts of London show that the owners smoked heavily.**

Clay pipes come in many different sizes, some with long stems and decorated bowls and date from anytime from the 17th through to the 20th century.  The last clay pipe manufacturer in Manchester only ceased trading in 1990.

The most interesting pipe to come back out of the earth was found in the archaeological dig of the church in the 1980s.  It can be dated to between 1830 and 1832, and may have been bought to commemorate the coronation of William IV.  

The William IV pipe, 1830-32

It bears the inscription “William IV and Church” around the rim and is highly decorated with the royal coat of arms flanked by a lion on one side and a unicorn on the other.  

It is also unusual because it was found in one of the graves inside the church.  

The final burial in the grave was that of Thomas Watson aged 54 in 1832.  

There are those who might well imagine the pipe being placed alongside the coffin of Thomas Watson in imitation of the ancient practice of placing grave goods alongside the departed.  

The less romantic will counter with the obvious observation that it was the casual act of one of the grave diggers.  

Either way it is unusual for the bowl to survive.   More commonly it is the stem which is turned up and even these are found as fragments.

Detail of the pipe

Clay pipes were never expected to last.  At best they might survive for a few weeks and in many cases just days.  But then they were cheap.  

Very little has been published on the price of pipes but adverts dating from 1799 have unglazed ones selling at 2s 6d [12½p] a gross.  Just over 130 years later the 1930 Pollock catalogue was selling them at 4s [20p] a gross.  Longer pipes did cost a little more but these were not the choice of the working man in the fields.  

Shorter pipes could be smoked while working and it is these that turn up in the fields around the township.'***

So I wonder about my bit of pipe.

I would like to think it belonged to Samuel Gratrix who was farming this bit of Egerton land in the 1840s, but chances are it was discarded by someone passing along the Row, or worse still dropped into a privy somewhere in Manchester, only to make its way with a cart load of night soil along the Duke's canal to Chorlton.

But that along with Mr Gratrix and his field belong to another story.

Pictures; clay pipe, 2014  from the collection of Andrew Simpson, and other pipes from the report on the Archaeological dig conducted by Dr Angus Bateman during 1980-81


*The Row or Chorlton Row is now Beech Road

** Pearce, Jacqui, Living in Victorian London: The Clay Pipe Evidence, 2007, Geography Department at Queen Mary, University of London

***from the Story of Chorlton-cum-Hardy,   http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/the-story-of-chorlton-cum-hardy.html

Lost and forgotten streets of Manchester nu 26 ........ at Salford Cross in 1875 with Mr Henry Nelson

Now sometimes it is best just to stay with the image and keep the words to the minimum.

The Bulls Head, 1875

The caption just says, “old houses, Salford Cross”  and it was taken by James Mudd in 1875.

I could have gone looking for Mr Mudd but instead looked up Henry Nelson who was running the Bulls Head at 47  Greengate.

He was there in 1871 with his wife Mary and four children.

Only the youngest who was seven had been born in Salford which suggests that sometime between the birth of Sarah in 1857 and Alfred in 1864 the family moved to Salford.

Up to 53 Greengate

And we can be a bit more precise because in 1861 Mr Nelson gave his occupation as "Oastler" and the family address as 33 St Simon Street.

For those wanting even more detail I can tell you that in 1871 his near neighbours were James Major at 51, and the landlord at the Old Shears Head at 53.

The street on the corner was Bull Street which ran down to Duke Street but also gave access to Bull Court which was surrounded by eight properties of which some were back to backs.

And that is enough for now.

Location Salford

Picture; Old houses, Salford Cross, James Mudd, 1876, m79430, courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass

*Enu 15 55, Greengate, Salford

Dancing across London …. and on in to Bermondsey ….1965

I like musicals, and so when I saw a trailer for a 1965 film about London and especially Bermondsey, I was hooked and sent off for the DVD.

My River, 1968

For what ever reasons I never saw the film at the time, which might be because it never quite made it to the Well Hall Odeon or the ABC in the High Street

But more probably because back then I didn’t fancy watching Joe Brown, Una Stubbs, Sophie Hardy and Sid James, sing and dance their way around London to an implausible plot, which involved them trying to steal, a bowler hat, Guardsman’s bearskin, and a police helmet.*

But fifty-five years on, having exchanged south east London for Manchester I decided it was worth the £6.

Well I rather think the jury is out on value for money.

I have lots of  time for Joe Brown, Sid James and Una Stubbs, all of whom are superb in their own fields, added to which, the support cast were good, and the backdrops were of a London, long gone.

As for the film, its plot and the quality of the songs, I rather think the writers and producer might have been better employed staying at home.

But a bit of me always wants to be generous to anyone who creates something, and it is easy to be critical.

Looking out from Occupation Lane, 2019

So, forget the story line, along with the songs and some dodgy acting, and instead focus on the bigger canvas, which is that London I grew up with and fondly remember.

The River is still flanked by a forest of cranes, the skyline has yet to be dwarfed by tall nondescript buildings, and there is a mix of touristy London with the sort of places I grew up in.

All of which makes it a piece of history well worth watching, not only for the sights but also for a type of “kids” musical where a group of working-class youngsters make fun and come out OK.

Not that I can empathise with the last bit.  I certainly had fun, but my growing up was more mundane, and ordinary.

Added to which I rather think that Cliff Richard did that style of movie a bit better.

Still, the notes on the back under special features holds out the promise of something good from the image gallery.

We shall see.

Location; London, 1964-5

Picture; The River as I remember it, 1968, and Looking out from Occupation Lane, 2019  from the collection of John King

*Three hats for Lisa, 1965

Painting the posh ..... Madam Le Brun ...... on the wireless today

Vigée Le Brun, my Wikipedia tells me "was a French painter who mostly specialized in portrait painting, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries".*

Élisabeth Louise Vigée, Self Portrait, after 1782

And what a fascinating women she was.

Her life and work is discussed on this week's edition of In Our Time.**

"Misha Glenny and guests discuss the French portrait painter Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun (1755 - 1842). 

From her teens she delighted her high society subjects in and around Paris, notably Marie Antoinette who she painted around 30 times, and she invariably found ways to show her sitters at their best. 

Some critics were affronted that she, a young woman, dared paint at all and, when they saw how good her portraits were, some spread a rumour that surely this could not really be her work and she must have had a secret male lover finishing her portraits in a studio. 

The French Revolution forced Vigée Le Brun out of France and so she set off from one European court to another to find more success from Naples to Vienna to St Petersburg and to London, eventually settling back in France. Today her works are on show in major galleries around the world.

With Rosalind Polly Blakesley,Master of Pembroke College and Professor of Russian and European Art at the University of Cambridge, Robert Wenley, Deputy Director of Collections and Research at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham, and, Francesca Whitlum-Cooper, Curator of Later Italian, Spanish and French Paintings at The National Gallery, London.

Producer: Simon Tillotson"

Location; In Our Time, BBc Radio 4

Picture; Élisabeth Louise Vigée, Self Portrait, after 1782, National Gallery, Location; room 33, Accession number, NG1653

*Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89lisabeth_Vig%C3%A9e_Le_Brun

**Vigée Le Brun, In Our Time, https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002y1gt 

The secrets of the Old Road and the Isles …….. marl pits and water filled ponds

Now, we have lost most of the features of our rural past, here in Chorlton.

The Old Road, 2016

But just occasionally there are still a few hints of that past.

Of these there is the Old Road which stretches out from Chorlton across Turn Moss and on to Stretford.

I call it the Old Road, but most people will know it as Hawthorn Lane, although on official documents from the mid-19th century it was called Back Lane, while parts of it were also referred to as the Cut hole Lane and Town’s Bank.

It is somewhere I have written about in the past and keep coming back to.*

Once it will have been used by farmers transporting produce to the Duke’s Canal and the raised roadway underneath the canal’s aqueduct, bears witness to the need to protect pedestrians from passing wagons.

Even now, if you walk the route there is a sense that you are walking a country lane, with the overhanding trees, the remnants of hawthorn fences and the twisty nature of the lane.

And it is filled with history, starting with the site of Sally’s Hole, a pond which dates to at least the 18th century was only filled in, sometime in the 1960s.

The Old Road, circa 1900

That said, the scene on either side bears little witness to what it would have one looked like.

The mass of trees, and bushes would have been absent and instead the area was very much open land with the od avenue of trees.

And had you walked the lane two centuries ago you might well have caught sight of the “marl men” engaged in extracting marl from pits which was used to spread on the land.

Marl which contains carbonate of lime was a cheap substitute for lime and spreading it on the land would enhance the land’s fertility for up to twelve years.

Writing in 1899, H T Crofton in his book on Stretford, drew on older authorities who recorded that “most of the old pitsheads yet extant in the fields have been quarries whence marl has been obtained.

In marling, the gaffer of the pit, who controlled the falls and excavations, was called ‘My Lord’.  Passersby were solicited to contribute to the marling or shutting, or feast, at the conclusion of their laborer’s”.

Marl Pits, 1853

These pits could be quite substantial and involved clearing the top soil and then "‘shooting the pace’ which involved “making a broad way of a very easie ascent and descent for the convenience of fetching out the marl”.**

The degree to which this was a lucrative business can be seen in one legal dispute concerning the extraction of marl during the 17th century and the large number of pits in the area around Oswald and Longford roads, which was known as the Isles due to the larger number of pits and lazy watercourses which stretched out across the land.

The 1853 OS map shows plenty of these, and according to H T Crofton the area around what was once Firs Farm was similarly dug.

Most filled with water, and in time must have been a source of concern for parents.

Next; Firs Farm

Pictures; The Old Road, 2014, from the collection of Andrew Simpson, the Old Road, circa 1900, from the Lloyd Collection and detail from the 1841 OS Map of Lancashire courtesy of Digital Archives, http://www.digitalarchives.co.uk/


*The Old Road, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/The%20Old%20Road

**A History of the Ancient Chapel of Stretford H T Crofton, 1899